You may have noticed that Apple refreshed their MacBook Pro line Thursday morning -- but did you notice that little lightning bolt symbol next to the Mini DisplayPort port? If not, you may be missing out on the real story with these new notebooks, which is the new Thunderbolt technology.

With winter in full swing, and March Break only a few weeks away, we know that a lot of you are no doubt planning a getaway. If those vacation plans include an iPhone and a trip outside the United States, your time abroad could quickly turn into an expensive proposition, thanks to your telecom’s data roaming fees or even worse, a lost or stolen iPhone. Fortunately, we've got tips to travel smarter with your iPhone.

The latest MacBook Air models exceeded the expectations of many, although there are plenty of folks still pining for a built-in 3G modem to make the tiny notebook a true rival for cheaper netbooks. If a recent Apple survey is any indication, Cupertino might just be paying attention to those wishes.

If you're unimpressed with having to pay $25 a month for the measley 2 GB of data tethering provided by AT&T's DataPro plan, brace yourselves: AT&T is planning on offering customers an additional 2 GB worth of tethering goodness to their customers. Unfortunately, that additional data's gonna set you back an additional $20 per month.

Apple seems to be doing a boffo job of pushing iPhone users toward their latest and greatest version of iOS, if new data is any indication -- nearly 90 percent of all iPhone users are on some form of iOS 4, with more than 50 percent of those rockin’ on the latest, 4.2.1.

The Verizon iPhone may still be a shot in the dark, but according to a new job posting on the Apple website, the company may be looking to put the iPad on the Verizon network. This position will be a full-time job, with a location in Cupertino.

If you were paying attention to the Internet over the weekend, you might have heard the news that Apple has crossed the 300,000 app mark with the App Store. That would be good news -- if it was correct and had come from Apple themselves.

It could be argued that thanks to Apple's exclusivity deal with AT&T, Android handsets became the People's Sour-Grapes iPhone. For individuals already locked into other networks or unwilling to take on a contract with AT&T, Google's open-source mobile OS, when paired with the right hardware makes for an excellent alternative to Cupertino's trendsetting handset. According to some increasingly credible rumors, the American cellular landscape will be undergoing a significant change in the early months of 2011: AT&T will no longer be the only game in town in you want to get your mitts on an iOS powered smartphone, as Apple is purportedly ready to unveil a iteration of the iPhone that will function on Verizon's network in early 2011. Despite the fact that the iPhone's primary competition of late has come from companies selling hardware with running one flavor of Android or another, the Cupertino-based tech company owes a debt of gratitude to Google: Without Android handsets gobbling up data like it was going out of style, Verizon wouldn't have been able to anticipate whether or not their network in its current state could sustain the added user demand that will come with the company's introduction of the iPhone.

The iPhone makes any trip better. You’ve got your camera for capturing memories. You can fire up a game to kill time in airports and train stations. Your music is always handy. And of course Maps, Mail, Safari, and all the subway-mapping, restaurant locating, and airline-check-in apps that chomp data in order to do their stuff.

But if you’re traveling overseas, you’re going to need a plan for where that data will come from--if you rely on your iPhone’s AT&T connection, you’re going to need deep pockets. Because while nationwide network access is included in your monthly data plan, when you go abroad your phone is connecting to another company’s network, who charges AT&T, who passes hefty fees on to you. You’ll pay 2 cents per KB (1.5 cents in Canada), which can add up quickly. For perspective, going over your DataConnect plan’s limit here in the U.S. will only ding you 5 cents per MB (with DataConnect 5GB) or 10 cents per MB (with DataConnect 200MB), so those KB are up to 400 times more expensive overseas. Ouch.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Follow this advice and you can have a great time on vacation and avoid an astronomical data bill later.